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Selig's contract extension approved by owners

Selig's contract extension approved by owners

Selig on new labor agreement 1:46

Commissioner Bud Selig talks about MLB and the MLBPA reaching a new five-year labor agreement

By Barry M. Bloom
/
MLB.com |

PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. -- A two-year contract extension for Commissioner Bud Selig was approved on Wednesday by Major League Baseball's executive council, setting up Thursday's confirmation vote by the full ownership.

Selig declined to comment about the matter on the first day of the two-day quarterly meetings of owners at the Sanctuary in Phoenix, stopping a reporter in mid-sentence.

"I'm not even going to let you ask the question," Selig, baseball's ninth Commissioner, said with a laugh about remaining on the job through the 2014 season. "We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Selig, who will be 78 this year, said when his contract was extended through 2012 in '08 that this would be his last term, and since then publicly has maintained that position. The extension was not originally on the agenda, but will be added via unanimous consent.

At the meeting, the 100-percent sale of the Padres by John Moores to a group headed by Jeff Moorad was originally expected to be approved, though that process may have hit a snag on Thursday. Moorad is the club's current chief executive and began buying percentages of the Padres at start of the 2009 season.

The owners are again endorsing Selig, who replaced Fay Vincent as interim Commissioner on Sept. 9, 1992. Selig was formally given the post on July 7, 1998, and just finished his 19th full season as Commissioner. That run is second only to the 24 years served by Kenesaw Mountain Landis, baseball's first Commissioner, who was hired in 1920 in the wake of the Black Sox scandal and died in office in 1944.

At the time Selig became interim Commissioner, he was the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and his family has since divested itself of the franchise. Mark Attanasio purchased the Brewers in 2004.

Under his watch, Selig won approval for Interleague Play, prompting a move of the Brewers from the American League to National League in 1998, the three-division format and a Wild Card berth in each league, the unbalanced schedule, worldwide recognition of the sport, performance-enhancing drug testing of Major League players beginning in 2003, and home-field advantage in the World Series for the winning league in the All-Star Game.

As part of the latest labor agreement, the Astros will move from the NL to the AL for the 2013 season. Also, MLB will add two more Wild Cards teams -- one in each league -- plus a one-game play-in to ascend to the playoffs.

MLB has until March 1 to tell the Players Association whether it wants to commence the new format this coming season.